Field
The present invention relates generally to fluid management during a medical procedure and more specifically to automatic fluid management by adjusting height of an irrigation fluid source, such as a BSS (Balanced Salt Solution) bottle, during an ocular surgical procedure.
Background
Surgical systems, such as phacoemulsification systems for ophthalmic surgery, require fluid infusion while the surgery is being performed. Accurate management of such fluid infusion is critical to the procedure. In the phacoemulsification surgical context, the surgeon employs a phacoemulsification machine that controls fluid flow to the ocular region of the patient. If fluid flow is altered during a surgical procedure based on some external factor, such as switching submodes on the phacoemulsification machine, an adverse situation can develop, potentially causing severe damage to the patient.
Fluid flow is typically controlled during an ophthalmic or ocular surgical procedure by the phacoemulsification machine adjusting the height of an infusion bottle or other irrigation fluid source. Bottle height is typically controlled automatically, i.e. without user intervention, where the machine raising the bottle height results in more fluid pressure, and lowering bottle height results in less fluid pressure.
One issue with such an automatic height or flow adjustment arrangement is that default settings for bottle height may be provided in certain modes or submodes or under certain phacoemulsification machine settings. Any change in situations conditions, such as a change of mode or submode, can sometimes cause automatic operation to alter bottle height to an unacceptable level for the conditions encountered. Also, the surgeon may encounter circumstances that require an adjustment to bottle height, such as encountering a compromised eye during surgery. In this case, the ability to adjust bottle height, or override the machine settings, is highly desirable. A problem can arise if, after setting a height to a desired height, the conditions change and/or the machine moves the irrigation fluid source to an unwanted height. In the presence of a submode change, the surgeon may wish to employ a fluid flow rate that differs from the default setting for the new submode of the machine.
The end result of this uncertainty in bottle height is that the surgeon may need to monitor bottle height settings constantly, particularly during machine mode or submode changes. Such monitoring is undesirable as it takes the surgeon's attention away from the surgical procedure. Again, issues encountered during surgery can have devastating effects on the patient and must be avoided.
There is therefore a need in the art for techniques and devices that can provide efficient and effective bottle height management during a surgical procedure that reduces the need for the surgeon to devote his or her attention to bottle height and fluid flow conditions.